Moderate Democrats finally took a major step toward impeaching President Donald Trump. Now some are afraid their own colleagues could squander it.
In a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, multiple centrist lawmakers expressed concern that the caucus lacked clear messaging or strategy going forward, which could soon suck the air out of the move toward impeachment, according to multiple lawmakers and aides.
“If you are asking us to stay on message, give us a goddamn message to stay on,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) said in the private caucus meeting, according to multiple Democrats in the room.
Slotkin, whose comments came after Speaker Nancy Pelosi had already left the meeting to deliver a televised statement endorsing an impeachment inquiry, was voicing a sentiment that quickly gained steam among the moderates.
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That’s particularly true of the vulnerable freshmen in GOP districts who took the impeachment plunge because of concerns with Trump’s threat to national security and who now fear that Democrats plan to engage in another wonky process debate that will distract from the allegations of Trump’s abuse of power.
Another first-term Democrat, Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, raised a similar sentiment about Democrats losing focus on what led the party to this moment, after Pelosi and other key chairmen outlined a multi-step plan for their impeachment inquiry involving the six committees investigating Trump.
Several moderates are also privately worried about members of their caucus going too far, with some progressives declaring prematurely that Democrats are ready to imminently impeach Trump.
Source: Vulnerable Democrats fear impeachment messaging stumbles
